The Silent Twins is a 2022 internationally co-produced biographical drama film about the twin sisters, June and Jennifer Gibbons, who were institutionalized at Broadmoor Hospital following years of silence and teenage rebellion. It was directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska from a screenplay by Andrea Seigel, who adapted the book of the same name by Marjorie Wallace. The film stars Letitia Wright, Tamara Lawrance, Nadine Marshall, Treva Etienne, Michael Smiley, and Jodhi May.
| The Silent Twins | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Agnieszka Smoczyńska |
| Screenplay by | Andrea Seigel |
| Based on | The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Jakub Kijowski |
| Edited by | Agnieszka Glinska |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 113 minutes[4] |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $298,207[5][6] |
The Silent Twins had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, under the Un Certain Regard section, on May 24, 2022,[7] was released in the United States on September 16, 2022, by Focus Features,[8] and was released in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2022, by Universal Pictures.
Plot
editFeeling isolated from their unwelcoming community, June and Jennifer Gibbons turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into a fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires. After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American teenager they both idolize, the girls are summarily sentenced to Broadmoor Hospital, an infamous psychiatric hospital, where they face the choice to separate and survive or die together.
Cast
edit- Letitia Wright as June Gibbons[9]
- Leah Mondesir-Simmonds as young June Gibbons
- Tamara Lawrance as Jennifer Gibbons[9]
- Eva-Arianna Baxter as young Jennifer Gibbons
- Nadine Marshall as Gloria Gibbons
- Treva Etienne as Aubrey Gibbons
- Michael Smiley as Tim Thomas
- Jodhi May as Marjorie Wallace
- Jack Bandeira as Wayne Kennedy
- Kinga Preis as Sister Nowak
- Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn as Greta Gibbons
- Tony Richardson as Dr. John Rees
- Declan Joyce as George Kennedy
Production
editIn February 2020, it was announced that Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance had been cast as twin sisters June and Jennifer Gibbons in the film The Silent Twins, based on the 1986 book of the same name by Marjorie Wallace, with Agnieszka Smoczyńska set to direct and Andrea Seigel set to write the screenplay, it marks Smoczyńska's English-language film debut.[10] On April 8, 2021, it was announced that Focus Features acquired US distribution rights to the film while parent company Universal Pictures took international distribution rights.[11] Principal photography wrapped in Poland.[12][13]
Release
editThe Silent Twins had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, under the Un Certain Regard section, on May 24, 2022.[7] It was released in the United States by Focus Features on September 16, 2022,[8] and was released in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures on December 9. It also screened in the 'World Cinema' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival in October 2022.[14]
Reception
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 84 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads, "Although it struggles to really get inside the true story that inspired it, The Silent Twins is still a well-acted and poignant dramatization of actual events."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]
References
edit- ^ a b "Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance to Debut in 'The Silent Twins'". blackgirlnerds.com. February 26, 2020. Archived from the original on May 2, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "The Silent Twins | BBFC". Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Silent Twins (2022) Agnieszka Smoczyńska". Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "The Silent Twins". Cannes Film Festival. May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "The Silent Twins (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "The Silent Twins (2022)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ a b Scott Roxborough (April 14, 2022). "David Cronenberg, Park Chan-wook, Kelly Reichardt Set for Cannes Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Humphrey, Julia (July 13, 2022). "'The Silent Twins' Trailer Teases a Captivating and Imaginative True Story". Collider. Archived from the original on July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Grierson, Tim. "'The Silent Twins': Cannes Review". Screen. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 26, 2020). "'Black Panther' Star Letitia Wright & 'The Long Song' Actress Tamara Lawrance To Star In True Story 'The Silent Twins' For 'The Farewell', 'Ironbark' & 'High Life' Producers – EFM". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (April 8, 2021). "Focus Features Acquires 'Silent Twins' With Letitia Wright & Tamara Lawrance". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- ^ Welk, Brian (April 8, 2021). "Letitia Wright Film 'Silent Twins' Acquired by Focus Features". The Wrap. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (April 8, 2021). "Focus Features acquires Letitia Wright, Tamara Lawrance drama 'Silent Twins'". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
- ^ "The Silent Twins". Busan International Film Festival. September 7, 2022. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ "The Silent Twins - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
- ^ "The Silent Twins Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
